Taste of Revenge
by Queen of Serpentz
Summary: Bad boy James must be taught a lesson. The game of vengeance begins with Lily's plan to seduce & then dump him and James retaliating when he finds out. But the taste of Revenge is sweet as well as addicting and neither are willing to admit defeat. LJ.
1. It Began With a Kiss

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**The Taste of Revenge**  
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_By Queen of Serpents_

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it. Sorry to disappoint. But Lily's friends are my own creations. Making up people is fun!

**Author's Note:** I had to repost this because FF deleted my account. I wasn't really in the mood to repost everything, and I am apart of TheGreatBreak, but I decided to repost anyway.

This is my first Lily/James fic. I have read a few fics of this ship which I really like but not a lot so I hope mine isn't too cliched. This idea was originally for my DM/HG fic but I decided to turn it into a L/J instead.

**Summary:** Bad boy James must be taught a lesson. The game of vengeance begins with Lily's plan to seduce & then dump him and James retaliating when he finds out. But the taste of Revenge is sweet as well as addicting and neither are willing to admit defeat.

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**Chapter One: It Began With a Kiss**

A smile of satisfaction crossed his lips as his mouth came down upon the girl who he had pinned against the stony wall. Her lips were soft yet chapped, not what he had expected and wanted in a girl. Still she was female and he had his urges so she would have to do. Plus it was all part of the plan. In moments Snivellus-- he grinned into her mouth, he always had a great kick while saying their nickname for Snape - would come and find his girlfriend snogging James Potter. The look on his face would be priceless. Utterly priceless.

_Any minute now_...

He was getting bored with her mouth and decided to pull away and his lips began to descend down the line of her jaw and lower to her neck. Her breathing hitched and her hand gripped his messy black hair tighter than previously as he sucked on her pulse point. Her other hand was holding onto the front of his robes so tightly he was about to choke but he continued without any thought to it. Just a second more and Snape would come...

A gasp from his side made him detach himself from Doria, Snape's girlfriend - how in the world did he get one in the first place? - and he turned his head to smirk at the intruder. His eyes widened when landing upon the girl with green almond-shaped eyes with her flowing red hair tied up in a lose bun, strands of it falling into her face. For the millionth time since he saw her, he thought how gorgeous Lily Evans looked. Too bad she hated him so much and too bad she was such a bitch at times.

Her hands fluttered to her mouth and her books fell with a bang which made Doria open her eyes and turn to see what happened and why James had stopped. Evans shook her head, her hand still clamped over her mouth and began to take small steps back, her eyes wide with disbelief.

James's smirk grew larger when he saw Lily Evan's back colliding with a tall, greasy haired Slytherin and heard her shriek in fright.

"Watch where you're going mudblood," came his icy voice. Apparently he hadn't noticed his girlfriend sandwiched between James and the wall with James holding her hips and forcing her to stay here and not get a chance to move away. The Marauder could feel her shiver from fear of being caught but took no heed. He saw Lily look once at Snape, her emerald eyes still wide from shock and then at James. Three times she had done this and finally her eyes narrowed to slits as she marched up towards James sticking out her index finger.

Finally Snape had realized what happened and what his girlfriend was doing with his enemy and James was almost sure he could see the steam coming out of his ears. However as angry as he was, he didn't do a thing for Lily was even angrier than Snape himself and had even taken out her wand in her fury.

"You! The nerve of you!" She yelled at James and Doria. "I'll show you!" She cried out raising her wand. She began to think of a curse to use but meanwhile, Doria slipped away from James and ran off before anyone was able to stop her. Lily was left looking shocked and James assumed she never had someone just run away from her like that. Snape looked on, finally regaining his equilibrium and put on a murderous look on his face.

"Get out of my way mudblood. I don't need your help," he spat. He took out his wand as he spoke. "_Potter_," he said with gritted teeth.

Evans looked appalled when Snape called her mudblood and stopped midway to glare at the Slytherin.

James who was a little ashen when Lily had rounded up on him now simply smirked when he saw the two bickering and was pleased to even see Sirius Black coming with his wand outstretched. Before Snape was able to utter a hex, the point of Sirius' wand was right at his forehead. "You hex James, I hex you," said he.

The Slytherin glared at Sirius who held the wand to his head and Lily fumed. "Won't you two ever stop?" She yelled. "Ever!"

"You know the answer to that, Evans," James said finding this to be his cue to ask her out again for the millionth time. He leaned casually against the wall. "Just go out with me and I will."

Lily scowled and stomped away to collect her books but James caught hold of her hand.

"Let go of me Potter," she spat.

"Come on, Evans. How about a kiss... Maybe then I'll be satisfied and I'll probably stop messing around with Snivellus's head."

Snape, who was oddly patient and quiet moved his feet and raised his wand but Sirius pushed his own wand further into Snape's head. "One move and that's it," Black hissed.

"Just stop it! All of you!" Lily snapped and pulled out of James' grasp. She pushed James hard against the wall and pointed her wand straight at his throat. "You make me sick, Potter. You really do."

James, shocked by her action, simply stared at her with a blank look on his face. Taking a deep breath, Lily backed up and put her wand away and went over near Snape to collect her fallen books

James stared at her and was sure Sirius and Snape was looking at her every move oddly as well. When she stood up, her eyes found Remus and Peter walking up from behind Sirius. "I never expected this from you boys," she told them and stomped off.

James had a funny feeling she was still furious about what happened and frowned at himself. But then he saw Snape and grinned, raising his wand.

Now that she was gone, time for some fun...

"_Oh_ _Snivellus_...!"

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Lily had never been so infuriated in her life. That boy really had some nerve to first ask her out while she was so furious with him and then tell her that a kiss would make him stop all these pranks. Yeah right! Like Lily would ever agree to that!

She walked down the halls not too far away from where she left the gang of Marauders and Snape and was able to hear Potter call out "Oh Snivellus!" She knew that they were going to do something awful to him now and stopped momentarily in her tracks wondering what she should do. Go there and stop it -_again_- or call a professor?

But she didn't want to tell like a little 1st Year and she didn't want to go in there and stop it, she'd look like an idiot, so she simply began to walk away trying to forget the whole ordeal.

Just as she was about to make a turn, she heard Potter's deep voice call out to her. "Hey Evans! Wait up!"

Lily stopped, pondering what could've made him actually stop messing around with Snape and actually come to her. She shook her head and took one step further but his quick, Quidditch trained arm caught hold of hers and spun her around to look at him straight in the eye.

She never realized how beautiful his hazel eyes were.

"Listen Evans I'm sorry. I realized I was stupid and I shouldn't have done that okay?"

Lily snapped out of the trance his hazel eyes were putting her in and pulled out of Potter's grasp.

"Potter I don't care," she snapped. "You can do whatever you want. I'm never going to butt in ever again."

He caught hold of her arm again as she began to walk away. "No Evans. Really. I'm sorry."

She twisted her arm around but he wouldn't let go. "_Potter_," she warned.

"No," he told her firmly pulling her by the arm and pushing her against the wall with a thud. "Why won't you just accept my apology?"

Lily's back stung with the impact of hitting the stony dungeon walls and let out a small whimper. Furious even more at what he had done, she glared at him. "Why won't I accept your apology?" She repeated. "Why should I if you're going to go back and play another prank on Snape? Why would I if you're just going to go pick out another girl to play with and then dump? There's no point. You'll never learn."

He sighed and learned closer to her, resting his forehead on the wall next to her ear. Her body tingled as his breath tickled her ear.

"I will learn," he said softly. "Just one..."

"Yeah, yeah I know," she said angrily. "'Just one kiss.' Why do you want me to kiss you in the first place huh? And what will that accomplish?"

"I'll never pick on anyone ever again. I'll grow up just like you want me too," he whispered pulling his head back from the wall and looking deep into her emerald eyes.

"Will you grow up then? Will you--" Lily began, her voice softening.

His head leaned closer to hers, his breath cool against her face.

"I'll grow up then," he promised, his lips coming closer to hers leaving a ghost of a kiss upon her lips. "Can I?" He asked.

Lily nodded her head, mesmerized by his eyes. Her body tingled with anticipation and unknowingly she parted her lips as his mouth descended upon hers. His lips were soft and he found out that hers were too, just how he liked them. He moved his body so that she was pinned against the wall by his weight and she melted against him. His hand went up to cup her cheek and a soft gasp came across her lips as his tongue slipped quickly inside.

Just as Lily was beginning to enjoy the sweet, slow kiss, she pictured Potter and Doria snogging against the wall, the hurt and angry look on Snape's face and the playful smirk upon Potter's face. She pulled her mouth away and turned her head so that when he dived for another kiss it landed far away from her lips and on her cheek instead. He pulled back to see what was wrong and was just about to open his mouth when a voice rung through the hallways.

"Hey Prongs, we just saw Snivellus running up towards the west wing. Want to go?" Sirius called out, his voice echoing in the almost deserted hallway.

Lily angrily looked at Potter's face which was now alive with mischief.

"I'll be right there!" Potter called out making Lily nearly choke. Didn't he just promise to her that one kiss and--

She shook her head angrily and slipped out from between Potter and the wall. She more enraged than she ever was before. "I knew you'd never learn Potter," she spat.

Potter quickly turned to look at the girl whose body was pressed tight against his. She wasn't where he last knew she was and turned around to see her emerald eyes dark with hate in the middle of the hallway.

"When will you grow up?" She asked in disgust, shaking her head. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and glared at him. "I _hate_ you," she whispered and then ran away, leaving Potter behind.

Today was the first time she was ever that mad at him. He'd never learn this way. She tried talking to him, scolding him, making sure he got detentions, and now she even kissed him in hopes he'd grow up but he didn't. He needed to be taught a lesson the hard way.

Thus the seeds of revenge were planted in Lily Evan's mind. James Potter would learn to keep his promises and she was sure as hell the way she would teach him now will make him never want to do a single prank or kiss another girl in his life.

The game of vengeance had begun.

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**Author's Note:** Tell me what you think. Too cliched? Too dramtic? Too wonderful for you to read! Lmao. Anyway please leave a review now! And Happy New Year too! (Because when I first wrote it, it was New Years. Why! Oh why they delete my account! .:cries:.)

**_All Hail,_**

**_Queen of Serpents_**


	2. Perfect

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**The Taste of Revenge**  
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**Chapter Two: Perfect**

"I can't believe he did it again!" Lily cried out in frustration, falling face-first onto her friend's soft bed. She grabbed the pillow and pulled it over her head. "Can't he leave Snape alone? Or anyone else, for that matter!" she yelled at her friends, her voice muffled. She was still upset about what happened those few hours ago.

She hadn't gone straight away to her dorms to talk to her friends. Instead, she went straight up to the Astronomy Tower for some peace and quiet so that she could ponder things through. Gazing up at the stars had always fascinated her since she was younger, and now the place had become her haven. A place which was hers alone. It was here that she was able to think without any interruptions and it was here that she thought of ways that could be done to make Potter pay the "hard way", which had happened more than once. However, as much as she tried, nothing was entering her mind. Nothing that she could do and make him really regret all those things he had done. Besides, he was prankster, skilled at such things like coming up with schemes to mess up people's lives, so wouldn't he be able to tell what she was doing and stop it?

She needed to think of a foolproof plan. One that would make him pay dearly, regret all the pranks he made, and never kiss another girl without truly meaning it from his heart. She was frustrated not only at what Potter had done after promising that one kiss would make him grow up, but at the fact nothing good was coming into her mind. She was always good at coming up with plans, especially when she was in grade school with Petunia and had to get back at her for picking on her constantly--Petunia had said she was awkward and weird. However, now, nothing was coming into her mind. What was wrong with her? If she couldn't think of anything, how would she get her revenge?

She needed to talk to the other girls to vent, so that's what she did. Maybe that would calm her down and thus come up with something good. Maybe she could even enlist in their help. They were good at that sort of thing.

"What happened now?" Ristina Patil said, her voice bored. She twirled a lock of her black hair, highlighted with a touch of reddish brown with one hand, and, with the other, turned the page of her Charms book. Her usually bright brown eyes were dull with boredom.

"What happened?" Lily echoed, annoyed and frustrated at her friend's obvious disinterest. "You're asking me what happened, Risty!" she sat up on her bed and glared at her two friends.

"Calm down, Lily," Ria said, Ristina's twin sister. She was the calmer and more levelheaded half of the twins. Her black hair was braided simply down her back, and her brown eyes were not like her sister's, but more deep and dreamy, like melted chocolate. Her mind was always out in one of her own worlds.

"Yeah, it looks like you have steam coming out of your ears," said Risty, intrigued by Lily's outburst and anger. The both of them giggled, but froze when they saw Lily giving them the death glare.

"Seriously, Lily, what did James do this time?" asked Ria, putting her daydreaming aside to give Lily her full attention. Lily was taken aback that they'd figured out Potter was the cause of her obvious distress.

"I just caught him snogging Doria," Lily said shaking her head after the shock subsided. She wanted badly to tell them that James had kissed her too with those same lips and how he broke his promise without a second thought. She wanted to tell them how much she despised him at that very moment.

"Doria? So?" Risty said turning back to her Charms book. To her, Potter snogging someone wasn't much of a big deal. It was an everyday affair and she even had been one of those girls.

"Doria happens to be Snape's girlfriend," Lily informed them, half surprised they didn't know and half annoyed they didn't care.

Risty snorted and Ria's eyes widened.

"What!"

"Snape has a girlfriend? When did he get a girlfriend? Oh my God this is hilarious!" Risty shrieked.

"Girls!" Lily scolded, happy that they finally took an interest yet angry they thought this was funny. "How could you say such a thing! Snape is a nice young man... A little odd and mean..." Lily said with a frown, recalling all the times he called her a Mudblood. "But nice," she said, not convincing herself in the end.

"Right," Ria said sarcastically.

"You keep thinking that," Risty added.

"Anyway...that's beside the point. The thing is, I just caught Potter and Doria snogging outside of an open closet."

"Outside?"

"Huh?"

"Yes, guys. Outside the closet. Didn't even have the decency to do it inside. Well, that's not even the bad part. It just so happens that he was snogging her right outside of where the Potions lab is. Right outside with that door open for the closet and everything! And he made sure that Snape would stumble upon them. Right outside the damned place! And Snape had detention there too! Of all the low things that boy did...this was just too far," Lily added, her voice rising in pitch as she told her tale. "Finally -- finally! -- Snape finds someone and Potter had to ruin that too!"

"Oh." The twins said at once, not really understanding why Lily was so upset about it. After all, James did a lot more things to Snape that was ten times worse. They just didn't understand. Even Ria, the understanding one of the two, was unable to contemplate why she was so angry. Could it be? Could it be that Lily had a slight... crush... on the greasy haired Slytherin? Oh my, that would be priceless!

No, but that couldn't be. Maybe ... just maybe Lily was jealous! Not jealous of Doria because of Snape, but jealous because Doria was snogging James. Lily always made such a fuss about him. Maybe it was because she was jealous and wanted James!

Just as the twins thought such juicy things in their minds and pondered about the possibility that their friend might have a crush on either the hook-nosed loser or the hotshot player, the door opened and in came their other friend with tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Oh, Natty! What's wrong!" Lily cried out and took hold of her friend's hand, forcing her to sit down on her bed. Lily looked closely at her good friend's distressed state. Her wavy blonde hair streaked with brown highlights was covering her tear-stained cheeks. Her blue eyes were glazed with tears and her chest heaved with sobs.

"He- he-" Natalie tried to say between her sobs.

"He who?" Risty said, laughing to herself at her words.

"Siri--" she began but was interrupted by another sob.

"Sirius? What did he do this time?" Ria said, imitating her sister's bored tone of voice.

"He dumped me!" Natalie wailed, and sniffled in Lily's arms. Lily's eyes green eyes widened and then lowered to a death glare at the image of Sirius Black in her mind. Again? Another friend taken and shattered by that wretched boy? Those damned Marauders...

"And---"

"And what?" Lily said, her voice cold and quite scary, too. One would think she was ready to kill.

"He was with that bitch Claire!" Natalie spat out. Her eyes were puffy and red with tears and anger.

"Oh you poor dear!" Ria said, patting her head. Her sister's eyes lowered to slits and when the twins made eye contact, they began to plan.

Lily had warned Natalie long ago not to fall for Sirius, the greatest womanizer in the school after Lucius Malfoy. She knew that only heartbreak would be the result but her friend did not listen. Natalie had thought she would be able to win over his heart but failed. Now look what happened to her. The poor thing!

This time the boys had just gone too far. Fueled with what James had done to Snape, Doria, and her, Lily was fuming more than she ever was.

"They will pay," she whispered dangerously.

Risty looked at her red-haired friend and smiled mischievously. "And I have the perfect plan..."

Natalie stopped crying at her friend's words. She looked up to see the determined look on her friend's faces and grinned, understanding the silent message. Yes, the boys would pay. One could almost hear the wicked laughter that was coursing through their heads.

"What's the plan?" Natalie asked after a moment of silence.

Risty stared at her friend and smiled innocently, then turned to look at Lily. Ria, as if reading her sister's mind, turned to stare at Lily as well. The same innocent, yet deadly smile was upon all three of their faces.

Lily, who all this time hadn't paid attention to her friend's unspoken plans, now found herself being stared at by her best friends and was quite scared indeed. Those innocent stares could only mean one thing. She was surprised that it took Risty not even a second to think of a plan while there she was pondering for over 3 hours in vain. Yet as much as she wanted to teach the Marauders --namely James Potter and Sirius Black-- a lesson, the look on her friends' faces meant that they were planning something awful and they were going to use Lily to do it.

"What?" Lily asked, her eyes wide with fright.

"Oh...you'll see," Risty said with a crazed smile.

"Uh, oh. What have I gotten myself into now?" Lily whispered, gulping down a lump of fear. She looked onto Natalie's hopeful, teary gaze, and suddenly her heart pounded zealously with a newfound vigor. She turned her head slightly to catch sight of her face in the mirror by the dresser and her fingers involuntarily went up to touch her lips.

A flash of Potter's lips upon hers entered her mind as well as the feeling of his velvetytongue in her mouth. A warm feeling coursed through her body. Slightly shivering and tingling with the passionate feeling, Lily was becoming lost in the memory but it soon vanished when remembering that Potter had lied to her. He asked for just a kiss that would end his ways, but he broke it.

Lily didn't know why she cared so much but she did know that what James had done was unforgivable. He broke his word and needed to be taught a lesson. Risty had a plan in mind and it might be outrageous, it might crazy, and it might be dangerous, but Lily was determined to carry it out no matter the cost.

"Oh, don't you worry, Lily," Risty soothed, seeing her friend's worried expression. Lily turned her head to look into Risty's eyes, which were alive and dancing wickedly, no longer dull from boredom, and grinned mischievously with a nod of her head.

Risty, pleased with Lily's unspoken agreement, rubbed her hands together in anticipation. "It'll be perfect," she said. Her face was screwed up in a twisted, evil smirk; "Just Perfect."

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**  
**Lily Evans really hated this. This whole idea wasn't going to work and she didn't know why she even fell into such a baseless plan. Of course James Potter would detect that Lily was either up to something or was getting high on some sort of Muggle drug if she decided to suddenly spring up on him and talk to him like they were friends forever-- especially after she told him that she hated him the day before. What a stupid idiot she was for nothing thinking about this before doing it!

_"Hey, Potter. How's life?" she told him cheerily, flashing him a fake smile. _

"Oh, just great--" he began, but when he saw her, he stopped his sentence midway. "Evans?" He said incredulously, "What are you_ doing here?" _

"Just come to say hello," she told him uncomfortably, aware of how odd her casually saying hello to him would be. Especially since not just 14 hours before, she told him that she hated him. Way to go, Lily! How very inconspicuous of you!

"Are you on drugs, Evans?" Sirius said from behind her. "You never come to say hello to us."

She rubbed her head and scolded herself at the memory. She then stared out into the window to try to get her thoughts back together. From the dark silhouettes she was able to make out the small dots that were supposed to be the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. They were whizzing around so fast, it made Lily's head hurt.

She turned away and looked back at her Charms paper. She had, for once in her life, forgotten that the essay was due the next day, too preoccupied with dealing with James and following through with the idiotic plan.

She was doomed. It was nearly time for patrol duties and she still hadn't completed a third of what she was supposed to hand in. In an hour, Wilfred would come and she would be forced to inspect each and every one of the many hallways in Hogwarts. By the time they would be done, she would be tired of walking, her eyes and ears weary from being alert at every sound, shadow, light, or anything else threatening. Plus, she would have to sigh and roll her eyes whenever she caught Wilfred looking at her with a faraway look and a drooling mouth.

After all this would transpire she would be left with a feeling of extreme exhaustion and vexation. And to have this Charms essay to top it off would be just too much.

But why is it that whenever she wrote a word, it wound up starting with the letter 'J'? She needed to get her mind off of him, but whenever she would sigh and look around, her gaze would fall right back out to the Quidditch Field and the whole cycle would start again.

Finally, after writing 121 words starting with the letter J, she got fed up and stood up, ready to spend the rest of the time she had at the library.

However, life was just not agreeing with her, and when she walked out the door of the Head Dorms and into the hallway, who was it to meet her but the people who came up with the plan that originally brought her into this predicament.

"Hey, Lily! Where are you going?" Ria asked, eyeing her books with a raised eyebrow.

"To the library," she informed them. "To finish the Charms homework."

"But wasn't that assigned 3 weeks ago?" Risty asked, talking the scroll of parchment from Lily's hand.

The Head Girl snatched it back, remembering that she hadn't wiped away all the J's. "Yea, well..." she began, grateful that the hallway was fairly dark and the girls wouldn't see her face flushing. "I seem to have forgotten a paragraph..."

Ria looked at her red-haired friend incredulously. "Mmhmm."

"Well, don't worry about doing that, Lily. Risty'll do the rest for you since she handed hers in and got a full mark on it. We have to discuss the rest of the plan--" Natalie told her.

Lily shook her head. "Guys, not today. You're giving me a headache. Plus I really have to get the essay done..."

"But its important!" Risty cried out, taking the quills and her books from her.

"The Charms essay is more important," Lily said firmly, finding a need to vent out her frustration.

Ria smirked at Lily, "You haven't even started the essay have you?"

"I--uh--" Lily began.

"Oh c'mon, Lil. Forget about the Charms. I'll do it for you," Risty butt in. "We have to discuss the plan, remember? It's very important! We made a huge mistake. James--"

"What about me?" asked a breathless, husky-voiced James Potter.

Risty's eyes widened and Lily was swelling with fear. Lord, what were they going to do now?

"Nothing concerning you, Potter," Ria told him quickly. "There are more James's in the world besides you."

"Right, Patil," Potter said briskly. He turned to rest his hazel eyes on Lily, who squirmed under his intense gaze. "And you, Evans, we need to talk."

Lily felt as though she had stopped breathing for a second and then looked up at him, her eyes raking over his body. He was still in his Quidditch uniform, leather and all. Why did boys look so good in those uniforms? She noticed how each and every muscle in his arms and legs were defined.

Get a grip on yourself! she scolded herself, shaking her head lightly. That's what you get when you think about one person far too long. Even if you hate him, she concluded, you begin to think things you really shouldn't. Especially if the person was wearing leather pants and had as much appeal as Potter did.

"Oh yeah?" Lily said, surprising herself at her calm voice. "Well, I'm busy now. Maybe later." She looked at Risty who had her eyes still wide, but now she was also shaking her head furiously, mouthing the words "talk to him".

"Not later, Evans. Now," he said with finality.

Who the hell does he think he is, Lily thought to herself when she no longer found herself being distracted by his heart-thumping uniform. How dare he order me around?

"We'll be going then," Nia said, taking an inconspicuous step back.

"Yea, we'll give you the homework in the morning, okay?" Risty said.

Without a word more, Lily found them walking down the hall and disappearing behind a corner. So much for being friends.

"Well?" Potter repeated.

"Sorry, Potter. I have rounds with Wilfred. I'm getting late," she told him, taking a small step away.

"Evans, you have half an hour until Wilfred will come to pick you up. I don't think talking will take _that_ much time."

"Well," Lily snapped, vexed at recalling that she'll have to spend the next 2 hours with the servile Wilfred. He was just too overeager to help, holding her books, opening the door for her, calling her "Miss Lily." Really, the boy annoyed her and she wasn't looking forward to speaking to James and then having to spend the earlier part of the night with that Hufflepuff, Wilfred Spits. "What is it?"

"I was wondering what you meant this morning. I mean, are you feeling alright?" he asked, his voice soft and concerned.

"Huh? Potter, what are you on about?"

"Well I s'pose you are better now," he mumbled sarcastically. "Since you're back to _that_ tone of voice."

"Listen, Potter. You're really annoying me right now. What do you want to talk about?"

"I want to know why you were acting all friendly with me. Sirius thought you were on those Muggle drugs but, of course, that's impossible so I thought you might've changed your mind, you know. Thought you might want to be friends. But, I guess, right now, you changed your mind."

"Yeah, you thought so?" Lily said, sarcasm dripping in her voice.

"Well, yeah," he replied smoothly

"You've got some nerve Potter," Lily told him dangerously, forgetting that she was supposed to be nice to him. Forgetting that she indeed, hinted to him that she wanted to be friends. Her increasing annoyance of having Wilfred for her partner and not doing her Charms essay was getting her stressed out and when Lily Evans was stressing out, she was in no condition to curb her anger. "Did you forget what happened yesterday so soon?"

He looked at her uncomfortably. "I was going to speak to you about that Evans. I'm sor--"

"No!" Lily snapped, too irritated and tired to hear another meaningless apology. "Don't say sorry if you're not going to mean it."

"But I do--"

"Shut up, Potter. You always say sorry. You always promise to grow up but did it ever happen? Did you ever keep your word? No," she said quickly, putting her hand up and not allowing him to interrupt. "You don't keep your word. You're a liar and a cheat and a-"

But before Lily was able to continue with her rant, Potter took her by her shoulder and shook her.  
"Now look here, Evans," he yelled, his hazel eyes darkening with rage. "Don't ever, _ever_ call me a liar," he hissed. "I always keep my word."

"You keep your word? You never lie?" Lily scoffed. "What world are you living in?"

"When have I broken a promise I given you? When?" he asked her fiercely. This was no longer the fun-and-games James Potter. He was actually serious and Lily did not know how to react. She was used to seeing him joking around with her, never actually anger but just pretending to be, but now this side of James Potter was quite intimidating.

"When you told me you'd grow up after--" her voice began to soften as she said her next words "--after I let you give me one kiss."

There seemed to be a slight pause after her words but Lily was able to see the transformation of his attitude in his eyes. Suddenly, Potter wasn't scowling, his cloudy eyes weren't darkened in that menacing brownish black, they were dancing and his entire, handsome face lit up with smile. However, that smile was quickly replaced with a smirk and her stomach fluttered when he was, once again, pinning her up against the wall. His Quidditch uniform was devoid of it's shin guards, arm guards, and the like and he only had the leather attire underneath those. He smelled of sweat and the autumn leaves and her heart raced.

The act was so swift, so sudden that adrenaline was pumping furiously in her veins. Indignation mixed with fear and then this new emotion intermixing made her chest rise and fall rapidly. His body's full contact with her own had numbed her vocal cords and all she was able to do was let out a light, almost inaudible gasp.

"I tried," he said playfully. "I _really_ did-" His voice was sending shivers down her spine. "But you see...," his fingers lightly traced the outline of her lip and she flinched. She was so shocked by his sudden change in attitude that her brain was trying to catch up to the present. "...that kiss wasn't enough to make me last too long. I need another to keep me from playing another prank."

His head was leaning closer against hers, his pink lips inviting and so alluring that Lily was caught between indignation and desire. Again she found herself mesmerized by his stare; no one looked at her that way. His eyes were cloudy again but this time not from anger but from growing lust. All too soon his mouth had covered hers and she molded against him with an involuntary sigh. Her body ignited with a feeling she never received from him or anybody else before. A growing need awakened and she had forgotten momentarily who exactly the man she was kissing was.

Until, of course, her brain finally caught up.

This was not according to the plan, Lily's mind reflected as she found her hands suddenly having an itch to run through Potter's messy hair and tangle themselves in it. It was black, messy, and sweaty, but desiring all the same. She was getting lost in his touch.

No, she thought firmly. _She _was the one who was slowly supposed to seduce him, _not_ the other way around.

Her fingers ran up his strong arms and then to his chest and shoulders, coming around and locking around his neck so she wouldn't fall. She had to switch this to her favor even though she was having trouble thinking properly. His kiss was so intoxicating. Just his lips alone were making her brain become muddled.

She had to snap out of it but it was hard. In the end she was left with only two options.

Give in...

Or assume control.

Her tongue ran over his lips demanding access to the depths inside. As soon as his willing mouth opened and his teeth parted, she explored the crevices of her enemy's mouth, storing the information away into her memory. She tried to tell her body and her lips not to fall captive to his hot, passionate kiss but it was getting increasingly difficult for her to keep her head straight.

Before he had a chance to respond more positively, Lily had decided she had to end it before she forgot what she was supposed to do.

Reluctantly, she put one hand on either side of his chest and pushed him away, ending this before she got carried away; before she forgot the purpose.

"Potter," she said firmly. To Lily, her voice was treading dangerously on the thin line of anger and lust but Potter was only able to hear the finality of it. He looked up at her eyes and saw the green pools shining with rage. The color on her cheeks was that of indignation and not of pleasure. "Stop it," she told him.

"Evans-" he growled, trying to grab her arm again before she left. "I thought you wanted this..." He was trying to make his voice sound not too hurt and disappointed but Lily was able to detect it anyway and marveled at the way she had just rejected him.

She shrugged away from him. The loss of contact from his body brought her mind to finally function properly. She became aware of her surroundings and especially The Plan. His reddened lips served as a reminder of the idea behind kissing him in the first place; the vengeful game that she had momentarily forgotten.

"What made you think that?" she snapped.

"You kissed me back--"

Lily shook her head firmly. "It was your imagination, Potter. Why would I kiss you back?"

James furrowed his brows. Lily saw, with satisfaction, the confused look on his face. He looked back up to her, his hazel eyes searching for an answer, his ears waiting for a laugh, a giggle, anything that would show that she wasn't meaning what she was saying and that she really did want it. However, he saw nothing there but anger and resentment, not noticing at all the slight twitch in her lip.

Hiding her smirk, Lily turned around and began to walk away but decided to throw another sentence before she turned the corner. "I'll see you tomorrow then," she said in a business like manner, pretending his kiss hadn't influenced her at all even though her insides were still burning with the kiss and his taunt muscles pressed tight against her chest.

She shook herself out of her thoughts and turned briefly, making sure her next words were more firm. Yet she couldn't help but sound a bit derisive as well:

"Dreams are meant for nighttime. And no more pranks, Mr. Potter."

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	3. Doubts and Suspicions

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**The Taste of Revenge**  
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**Chapter Three: Doubts and Suspicions**

To say that Lily Evans was acting odd would be an understatement. No, Lily Evans wasn't acting odd at all. In fact, she was acting downright strange and quite scary as well. She was acting different, kind almost, and James had a feeling there was something hidden beneath those flattering pools of emerald, a secret never meant for him to know. However, being who he was, he really wanted to know the reason for the sudden change. Not that he liked having to constantly bicker with his 5th Year crush, but not doing so was awkward.

It had been a full week since the last time they actually talked, or kissed rather. And all that time since, she was acting quite differently, not yelling at him, not flying off the handle and stopping him from playing pranks. She was hanging around them quite often as well and was actually quite casual about it. In fact, the times she was there, it didn't feel awkward at all after a while. Sirius sure liked the attention she was giving him, Remus and Evans were always on friendly terms, and Peter was quite taken by her as well.

However, he wasn't used to not being reprimanded by the bossy redhead. He had done quite a few things wrong, just to see what she would do, but was met by nothing at all. He was surprised, even began to _miss_, the old Lily Evans. He needed more of that action, the harsh words that would tame him, the flaring red hair of hers bellowing behind her as she ran to yet again yell at him, and of course, those gorgeous green eyes that seemed to follow every move he made, calculating and disappointed, never approving.

Now he didn't see that. They shared the Head Dorms together but never met each other alone, nor did James _want_ to talk to her alone. He saw a smile upon her face that was never directed to her, laugh lines around her eyes as she spoke with Remus yet kept her eyes on James, and a sultry look only reserved for him.

When had this change begun? Were his eyes looking correctly? Was his mind playing tricks on him? Lily Evans flirting with James Potter! Surely there was something behind this. A dare perhaps? Or was he wishing for her to reciprocate his feelings for so long that he was imagining things or possibly reading her expressions wrong?

Perhaps.

Perhaps she was right in saying that he was imagining the fact she kissed him back. Maybe it was because he fantasized the fact she would kiss him back for so long that when they did kiss, he thought Lily kissing him back was real.

But it was real!

James could have sworn that her tongue was the one that was being shoved down his throat. He was still able to feel her mouth moving against his, sucking his lip and her tongue – _God_, her _tongue_! He was getting all tingly inside just thinking about it.

If that wasn't real, James wasn't sure what was or wasn't anymore. She was right, he shouldn't have been dreaming in the daytime.

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Messing with Potter's head was fun, in Lily's opinion She liked to see the confusion on his normally aloof countenance. She liked the way his hazel eyes would search deep inside her, trying to figure out why she was telling him she didn't want while she was the one to kiss him back. She loved to remember the shocked look on his face when she pushed him away. And most importantly, she liked having to see him feel rejected. It was a satisfying feeling, and Lily couldn't wait to do that again. It would put him to his rightful place, that was for sure.

But there was something nagging her mind and it was the fact that she was giving in to his kisses so easily. She remembered how she molded against him so perfectly while he pushed her against the wall for the second time that year. She remembered his soft, gentle lips...

Gosh, it was only her second kiss with him and she was thinking about him already? What was she doing? She didn't get these tingly feelings in her in just one kiss. Something was wrong here.

Lily was pretty much always serious with the boys whom she dated but now she had play with Potter and Black at the same time. Wasn't that too hard for Lily to handle? If she was softening up in his arms so soon, how would she ever have him fall for her and then find it in her heart to dump him? She was probably going to have to go further than that... but would she be able to? The only person she went that far with was a guy whom at one point she really thought she loved. So now, what was she doing to do?

Call it off before she hurt somebody, especially herself?

But no, she couldn't. Not when she knew that this was the only way to make him pay.

Besides she wasn't doing his only for herself. She was doing this for everyone else, too. She wanted to take revenge for every single heart he broke. And to achieve this, she would have to stay strong, take no pity.

And in the end, her selfishness would result in James finally realizing what it meant to have a heart and what it meant to have it broken. He would finally learn...the hard way. And whatever Lily would do would be flawless.

Just one taste of revenge was all it took for Lily to completely be dedicated to the plan. As sadistic as it may sound, she wanted to see Potter hurt beyond belief and she wanted to be the one to make him feel that way.

But first to play with the boy's heart. And what better way to do it than to use his best friend.

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The sound of footsteps lightly patting upon the marble floor made Lily freeze for a moment. She furrowed her brows and continued to walk, listening carefully and alertly as the sound of feet following her stopped as soon as she walked no further.

A strange feeling of fear rose to her throat and she peered over her shoulder, her eyes scanning behind her to see who it was, or what it was. She felt like the protagonist of some sort of Muggle horror movie, being followed by a nameless being who had stopped walking as soon as she did.

There was no one there.

She moved her feet once more and there it was again, those same feet patting on the floor. This time it was harder and sounded nearer. Before she was able to have time to react, he said, very simply and quietly, "Boo."

Lily jumped a mile and from her mouth came the sound of the fear which was beginning to form inside her. The empty hallway echoed with her voice and she clamped her hands over her ears. A pair of gray eyes came to her vision upon opening her eyes which she had closed when that frightful word was uttered. Her heart pounded against her chest and when his derisive chuckle echoed, her eyes lowered to slits as she recognized the "ghost" as non other than Sirius Black.

"You!" she yelled at him, putting her hands on her hips as she tried to calm her irregular breathing. She glared at him while he held his hands up in defense. "Don't ever—_ever—_scare me like that again!"

He gave her a smug look but then shoved his hands in his pockets, lowered his head in mock shame, and looked apologetic.

Lily blinked a few times, calmed her breathing, and then shook her head, smiling in spite of herself. "Okay, what do you want, Black?" she asked him, getting straight to the point. "Do you want to talk or something? Or have you simply scared me half to death, to do just that, scare me to death?"

He raised his head, leveled his dancing gray eyes with hers, and gave her a lopsided smile. "Now why would I want you to be dead, Evans!" He chuckled and then stopped abruptly. His voice was clipped and business-like. "No, this is serious. We need to talk."

Lily gulped. She always hated those words especially if a guy said them to her and when a guy like Sirius spoke like that, well, it was bound to be very important. No bluffing. "Okay," she replied nervously. "Do you want to walk outside? It's a fairly breezy day, but the wind can be calming."

"Sounds good, Evans." He went back to using his normal, comical tone of voice, and offered her his arm. "Would the lady like an escort?"

Lily grinned, putting her hand through the crook of his arm. "Why yes, kind sir. That would be lovely!" She giggled girlishly, and then flounced with him towards the gates and outside. When she caught people's stares, she realized what an unusual thing this might have looked. Lily and Sirius? Walking hand in hand! Was this some kind of a joke!

But it wasn't a joke.

It was a game.

Lily's game, and she hadn't forgotten the plan one bit.

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James walked back and forth the Gryffindor common room. It was 11 o'clock, a Sunday night and most students went to bed to get up earlier for classes the next day. He, however, had no intention to sleep. He was awaiting Sirius to arrive.

The last time he saw him was a quick glimpse during diner. He wanted to ask him what she said. Did Padfoot get to ask her what she thought about him? Was this really a joke? What was she playing at? The questions were gnawing at him for hours and he had to... no needed...to know!

Remus was still there, right by the fireplace, curled up on a rung with his books spread out. He wasn't a fan of desks and preferred to study sitting on the floor. James looked down on his friend, and noticed a strand a strand of gray hair. He shook his head in sympathy.

The werewolf looked up at him and frowned. "You should go back to your rooms, Prongs. It's late."

James shook his head. "No, I can't. I need to know."

"You're stressing yourself too much. And if you ask my opinion, you should have asked her yourself."

"Well I didn't ask your opinion now did I?" James snapped. Remus looked stung for about half a second, but his expression went blank. James, being around his friend for so long, noticed it and then mentally hit himself for his hurtful comment. It was all Evans' fault! That girl was driving him insane!

"Sorry, mate. I just lost it there. But you've got to realize that I can't just ask her. You remember what she told me last time. She said I was imagining it. But I can't be imagining it, Moony. You don't imagine things like that!"

Remus got up, rubbed his chin, and then faced James. He opened his mouth, thought over what he was going to say, but then decided to say something else. "It's alright, James. But maybe she's just… playing hard-to-get," he said instead, though he had a gut feeling it was not so. There was something else Lily was playing, and it wasn't hard-to-get.

"Yeah, maybe," James replied, brightening up. "Hard-to-get. I like the sound of that." He nodded his head, smiling. But then he furrowed his eyebrows. "But why would she play hard-to-get? She hates me."

Remus shrugged. He had no answer for that.

A second later, the portrait door swung open and in came a very exhausted looking Sirius Black.

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Lily Evans impatiently tucked a loose lock of wavy red hair behind her ear and bit her lip. She dipped her quill into the black ink and then scratched the parchment furiously. She kept glancing back to the dying flame and then back up to the flight of stairs that would separate off, one to her room and the other to... James Potter's.

An hour later, the flame died away and she was left sitting in the darkness alone. She hadn't seen the flame diminish although she was glancing at it all this time. Her mind was not accessing a thing at all. Her mind was too preoccupied with looking at the stairs and wondering if he would come down to talk to her.

She stood up with her wand in hand, ready to light the flame once more. The candle was reduced to wax at that point so she rummaged in the dark for another candle in the drawers of her desk. Her wand was alight after a light whisper of "Lumos" and she hummed to herself to shrug off the awkward feeling of loneliness and fear.

She had a feeling someone was near.

A cool breeze attacked her unrobed body, making her shiver. The flame in the fireplace had gone out as well. She furrowed her brows and walked towards the window. She had a feeling a presence was near and shivered again as Goosebumps rose down her spine, making the hairs on the back of her neck rise.

She spun quickly, heart beating, wand outstretched and lit.

The expressionless face of Remus Lupin greeted her. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Remus!" she scolded, still breathless and panting heavily. "What is it with you boys and scaring me!"

He grinned boyishly and then sat on the chair that she was sitting on moments before. "What are you doing here, Lily? All alone?" He picked up a new candle and lit it with his wand.

"I should ask you that question, Remus." She watched as Remus lit the bottom of the candle, allowed the wax to fall on the tray upon which it stood, and then stick it on. The flame flickered and she reached out to save it from blowing off by the wind. "What are you doing here? This is the Head Dorms. Not Gryffindor Tower," she informed him. "If I know correctly, you haven't made Head Boy and in your stead is the arrogant, ignoramus, James Potter," she spat. The taste of his name on her tongue made her stomach turn uneasily with dislike.

"Correct again, Lily," he told her looking back up to her sullen face. He frowned, "Why are you looking at me that way?"

She sighed. "Nothing, Remus," she told him, pushing her useless rolls of parchment and books aside to sit on top of the desk seeing that Remus was sitting on the only chair on that side of the Common Room.

"Good, because I came here to pass on a message from Prongs." He looked at her scowling face. "But then again, I suppose you don't want to know. I expected that much."

Lily shook herself out of her thoughts and wiped the scowl from her face when she remembered she had made a plan with Risty, Ria, and Natty, the plan to get as close as possible to James for the time being. Then she would unleash the 'spell' that would result in Potter learning his lesson and leaving Lily with a feeling of satisfaction. "What's the message?"

"He wants to meet you in the pumpkin patch outside."

Lily raised an eyebrow at the choice of location yet made no comment. It was just like James to pick an odd place for them to talk.

She considered this and then gave her reply. "When?"

"Today," he replied. He briefly looked out the window and then told her, "Right now, in fact."


	4. Caught by Surprise

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**The Taste of Revenge **  
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**Chapter Four: Caught by Surprise **

James Potter couldn't help but be annoyed by what Sirius told him when he got into the Common Room late at night. He had asked Sirius to talk to Lily about her strange behavior, but instead he came inside, collapsed on the couch and sighed. When James asked him what happened, Sirius immediately grinned and said, "She's going to hook me up with her again!"

Of course James misinterpreted his sentence, not really following the words correctly, and widened his eyes, ready to strangle his best friend. "What? You asked her out?"

Sirius looked up at him nonchalantly. "I didn't ask her out, but she said she'd be willing to hel—"

"She WHAT?" James couldn't believe a word. Lily wanted to go out with Sirius? His best friend? And Sirius was _okay_ with it?

"Calm down, Prongs," Sirius said, not understanding nor caring why James was suddenly so mad. "I know I broke up with her last time, but I'm sure she'll be willing to get back to me. I really like her. I-I never felt this way about a girl before," he added seriously. 

"You went out with her _before_? When was this?" 

"Prongs, now I seriously know there's something wrong with you. I went out with Natalie last week remember?" Sirius said, standing up and eying his friend with concern.

"Natalie?" James repeated in a whisper. "You were talking about _Natalie_?" 

"Of course, who else do you think I was talking about? Lily?" he added with a chuckle. When he saw the grave look on James's face, he stopped laughing. "You didn't." James nodded his head. "You're a moron, you know that?"

James shook his head and sat back down, unwilling to talk any more.

All this time, Remus was watching from the sidelines with amusement and inwardly waited for the right moment to step in and correct James's misunderstanding. He walked over this time to where Sirius stood and, noticing that James would not talk, decided to ask the question James would've asked himself. "Any news on why Lily's acting this way?"

"Oh that…well I didn't really get the chance. I was talking to her about Nat, but by the looks of it, she's acting fine. Well, as fine as Evans could act while being around us that is. I figure she's just trying make the last year for us the best, you know? No more quarreling and the like."

"What about the fact she kissed me and claims I was dreaming it?" James croaked out.

Sirius laughed. "I don't know what to say to that. I didn't ask her. It seemed…too personal. You should ask her instead. In fact…why not go outside and talk to her?"

"I could just go to the Common Room back in the Head dorms and do that," James said.

"Ahh but talking outside is so much better. And in the dark, so much more…_romantic_," Sirius added with a wink.

James raised his eyebrow, but then thought better than to argue with his best friend. Talking to Evans outside would be romantic, but would she agree to go so late at night?

"But where outside? We can't get caught so it has to be secluded. It can't be the forbidden forest, she'll never agree to go even near it."

"How about the pumpkin patch?"

"Are you serious, Padfoot? That's the oddest place to ever meet. I'd understand the Quidditch field or something, but the pumpkin patch?"

Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "Everyone goes to the Quidditch field. I just thought about being original, you know. _Creative_?"

James nodded his head in approval. "Alright then. It's a plan."

As James put his invisibility cloak on and headed outside, Remus was given the duty to convince Lily to actually meet James.  
He just hoped he would get some answers today or figure out why she was acting so uncharacteristic. This time, they would be meeting at night so at least she couldn't say he was daydreaming. With that thought as consolation, James embraced the late November breeze and headed towards the pumpkin patch.

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Lily couldn't decipher why Potter chose the pumpkin patch to meet her out of all the places in the world. There seriously must be something wrong in that head of his, but whatever the case was, Lily sneaked out of the Dead Dormitories and hurried off to meet him, praying that she would not be caught.

The journey from the Head Dorms to the gates had been a fairly long and therefore risky one. She needed to make numerous turns in many hallways and the possibility of Filch or anyone else catching her was a great one.

She finally reached the giant doors that led outside and confronted the cool breeze with a scowl. She had forgotten to put heavier robes on and instead wore her light summer cloak. She hurriedly headed for the pumpkin patch and hoped the gamekeeper from the hut would not see them.

When she finally reached the pumpkin patch, no one was there. Was she early? Or did Remus trick her? But Remus could never play a prank on her; he was different from the other Marauders.

She stood there with her arms crossed over her chest for another full minute before she decided to head back. She was usually a patient girl, but today she was restless and fidgety. She uncrossed her arms, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and was ready to stomp off. Just when she took a few steps, James appeared magically out of thin air pulling a robe off his body and whenever he did so, part of his body was revealed.

Lily stared, mouth open and eyes wide. "Wh—_what_?" Potter grinned mischievously and took a few steps towards her. She finally snapped out of the shock and put her hand on her hips. "You boys are fond of scaring me to death aren't you? First Black, then Remus, and now you. Next thing you know Peter will suddenly get a brain and decide to kill us all and scare me too."

He chuckled. "Sorry, Evans, it's just so much fun to make you mad."

Lily raised her eyebrow and then suddenly remembered that she was supposed to act flirtatious. However, it was easier to think that but doing it was much harder. Especially considering their past history and the fact he irritated her.

"So why'd you call me down here?" Lily said trying to make the sentence sound flirtatious. She tilted her head and looked at him through under her eyelashes.

"I-I—"

_Bingo_! She made him stutter. That has to count for something. Potter never stuttered, he was always too suave to do so and always knew what to say around the ladies. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

He ran his hands through his hair and looked away from her, fixing his eyes on a pumpkin at the side of her head. Not looking at her cleared his thoughts and he was able to finally speak properly. "We needed to talk," he said seriously.

Lily inwardly sighed but on her exterior she furrowed her brows and tried to act cute. "Whatever do you wish to talk about?"

He jumped. "That!" he said looking at her and pointing to her mouth. "The way you're talking to me. All…flirty and sexy."

Lily blinked, scared that he jumped so suddenly and then blinked again when she registered what he said. He wasn't supposed to catch on so soon. Damn it! She knew this would never work. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said in her usual tone of voice.

"There you go again! You always switch back your attitude whenever I ask you a question." He approached her and held her shoulders. "What are you doing?" he whispered. "Why are you getting my hopes up like this?"

Lily blankly stared into his hazel eyes, not knowing what to say. "No—nothing."

They continued to stare into each others eyes. Lily's blank and his flashing in frustration. He studied her face this time, her eyes, her nose, and then down to her lips. She licked them nervously out of habit and he felt himself drawn to her lips and her pink tongue.

He ended the distance between them by pulling her closer and lowered his hand from her shoulder down to her waist. "You _are_ doing something. I know it."

He pulled her waist closer to his abdomen and raised his other hand up to her cheek, causing her breath to catch at her throat. Feeling his chest against hers caused pleasurable jolts to ripple to different parts of her body. He leaned closer so that his lips were brushing against her temple. Lily's stomach did a flutter and her heart was thumping fast without her control. She didn't want to pull away from him even if she could.

He kissed her unexpectedly, his lips warm and soft against hers. She let out a small gasp in surprise and reflexively made her hands travel up his chest and around his neck. Once secure and sure she wouldn't fall from giddiness, she began to kiss him too not really thinking about her actions. Not _wanting_ to think.

He was the one to pull back this time, studying her face. She opened her eyes slowly and stepped back from the circle of his arms. She quickly looked away when he tried to catch her eyes with his.

"See, you kissed me back this time."

Lily snapped her eyes back up to him in surprise. She opened her mouth to make up some sort of excuse but closed it again when she realized she had nothing to say in her defense. Instead she crossed her arms across her chest and stared at him definitely as if saying, _'So?'_

He shrugged his shoulders. "I finally found the answer I was looking for." He took a few steps towards her and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Evans" He turned around and began to walk away. 

Lily uncrossed her arms in shock and touched her cheek, still being able to feel his breath on her.

"Oh and Lily?" he said without warning, turning around.

Lily quickly put her hand away from her cheek and shoved both hands into her pocket. She looked up at him and tried to appear nonchalant. "Yeah?"

He smirked at her. "I told you I wasn't dreaming."

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**Author's Note:** Okay so this chapter was total crap. Well, not crap, but I could have definitely added a lot more to make this longer. It's barely 2,000 words and by far the shortest chapter I wrote for this story. You guys deserved something better but I really wanted to give you something before HBP comes out but I seem to never have posted it in by accident. I just stumbled across it and now here I am with chapter 4!

Oh and it's not beta-read so pardon the numerous mistakes. I'll get them fixed by my beta soon but for now, please overlook them.

Also I decided to try a little experiment. If you guys want something to happen in this story or for me to include something, just let me know and I'll see if I can add it and dedicate the chapter to you if it doesn't stray from the overall plot too much. For example if you want Sirius covered with chocolate (and of course no clothes on) and running around the Great Hall, I'll think about it and may just add it in for a bit of fun. (Note this is just an example. _Not_ happening.)

This way, I'll be more motivated to write the story and it'll be fun. I'm not sure how it'll work out, but I'm willing to give it a shot. What do you say? Either let me know in a review, or email me.

**_All Hail,  
Queen of Serpents_**


	5. Conundrums

**_Slight _HBP Spoiler**coming in the end of the chapter. It's nothing important so if you haven't read Book 6 (shame on you if you haven't! You call yourselves HP fans?) then rest assured its nothing major.

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**The Taste of Revenge**  
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**Chapter Five: Conundrums**

Lily Evans was on the verge of literally pulling out her hair. How did that happen? How did James take control of everything in just one second, one kiss? And the thing that stumped her twice as much as anything was the fact she actually _let_ him!

She sighed and chewed the inside of her cheek, wondering what was going to happen now that he knew she kissed him willingly. Her plan had slipped out of her hands before it had even begun. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts all pertaining to James Potter—that damned boy.

She recalled the way her body flared up with his touch. His mouth was as hot as it was sweet and she could swear that she could still taste him on her teeth.

She groaned and slumped down to sit on a large pumpkin and slipped her head into her hands. She knew all along that she was too weak for this and now she had no way of rectifying the situation.

Even her plans for Black had gone down the drain when he talked to her about his feelings for Natalie. How could she have possibly said no to his puppy-dog eyes when he asked her if she would try to hook them up again? How could she possibly use him to hurt James when he gave her a look like that? Besides, he was smitten with Natalie to such a point that it was impossible for her to flirt with him because she knew he wouldn't flirt back.

Now what was she to do?

Give up? Go back to hating James and Black and forget she ever wanted revenge? But what about the way Black dumped Natalie for Claire? What about the way James always picked on Snape and went as far and making out with his girlfriend in front of his face?

James had everything: good looks, charm, money, and status in the Wizarding World. Girls fawned over him, and just one wink from him would melt the hearts of hundreds. But he never liked any of those girls back. He never had a _real_ girlfriend or kept anyone for more than a few days. The girls he was with were like toys to him. He played with them for a few days, got bored, and then found a new one. He never kept interest on any for longer than a week.

The only girl that he was constantly after was Lily.

She raised her head from her hands and looked back at the castle. The way the towers spiraled up and the lights twinkled in the dark made it the most magnificent scene in the world, at least to her knowledge. Lost in the beauty of it, she vaguely remembered; it was dark and awfully late, and she needed to get back inside.

She stood up, ready to leave, but her feet were stuck to the ground and she couldn't keep her eyes off the topmost tower of the castle. She recognized it as the Astronomy Tower, her favorite spot to sit and ponder in during sleepless nights. She then raised her eyes higher, up towards the sky, where the moon shone brilliantly in the air. She could tell by the fullness and the radiance that only a few days remained until it would be a full moon and felt a shiver run up her spine and closed her eyes, immediately envisioning Remus under her lids.

She opened her eyes quickly and blinked, furrowing her eyes in confusion. She was thinking about the Marauders a bit too much, she concluded while shaking her head and erasing the image of Remus's face. She didn't know why, but every time she thought of a full moon, it evoked a memory of Remus's sad face.

Finally she found herself able to move her legs and quickly ran back inside the castle, debating whether to go back to the Head Dormitories or to Gryffindor Tower. James might be in either place, and deciding it was better not to see him again that night, her feet led her up to the Astronomy Tower on its own. She figured she wouldn't get any sleep with James kissing her earlier that night. She hated herself for thinking about him so much, but couldn't seem to help it.

_Dreams should banned_, she thought passionately while she stealthily headed for the stairs. She smacked her head when she replayed James kissing her in her mind and found herself sighing dreamily. _Seriously, they really should!_

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James was highly pleased with himself when he walked back into the Head Dorms and headed up towards his bed. He didn't want to go to the Gryffindor Common Room. For one, Remus and Peter were probably sleeping and he bothered Sirius enough as it was. He decided it was better for him to simply go to bed and celebrate his victory alone.

While he was walking past Lily's desk, he noticed a small, almost dying candle. She must have been doing homework before Remus came to take her away. James began scanning over her stuff. A few blank bits of parchment, schoolbooks, an open inkbottle that was quickly drying up and a few quills were scattered over her desk.

He reached out to put the cap on the inkbottle and when he went closer, he noticed a piece of parchment that wasn't actually empty. There was a small note beside it, and although he didn't want to invade her privacy, he couldn't help but unfold the note and look inside.

_Lily, Lily, Lily. Tsk tsk tsk. _

_Just so you know, I wrote your essay for you. But next time you may want to be a bit discreet if you're going to write James's name a million times over. ;) We don't want you falling in love, you know, so be careful and guard your heart. We depend on you. _

_Love, Risty._

James frowned and then folded the note back up again, putting it back on her desk. He walked back up to his room and pondered the message. Lily was writing his name over and over instead of her essay? He should've felt delighted, but it was the next sentence that dampened his mood. What did Risty mean when she wrote that she didn't want Lily to fall in love with him and that they "depend" on her?

He furrowed his brows and scratched his head, his minor victory forgotten and a new question chewing up his brain.

There was something about Lily that he didn't know.

But _what_?

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When she reached the door to the tower, Lily noticed that it was open. Curious, she stealthily crept inside to see who was in there before her.

"Lily," Remus said curtly, nearly making Lily trip over his cloak, which was lying on the floor. She whirled her head to face him and heaved a sigh.

"Not again," she groaned. "Why do you boys have to make my life difficult? Quit scaring me!"

Remus chuckled and patted the ground next to him. She chewed the inside of her lip and then plopped down beside him. He wasn't looking at her, she noticed, and instead stared up at the sky. It was a brilliant, clear sky with stars twinkling down at them. The moon was mocking their silence.

"What brings you here?" he asked at last.

Lily sighed, closing her eyes and remembering the difficult position she was in. "Just for some quiet," she replied. She turned her head to look at him. "Why are you here?"

He shrugged. "Same thing."

Again there was silence.

"How was your meeting with Prongs?"

This time, _she_ shrugged. "Okay."

"You know, James really likes you."

"Yeah, but who said I like him?"

Remus gave her a look. She thought her answer was sincere, but she also knew that Remus knew when people were lying. The look he gave her made her doubt her own words. _Was_ she lying when she said she didn't like Potter?

Of course she wasn't, she told herself firmly. _Of course not._

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She was lying to him. He _knew_ it. He could feel it deep inside him, all the way down to the core of his bones. She was lying when she acted like she didn't feel anything when he kissed her at the pumpkin patch last night, and she was lying to him when he confronted her in the morning, only to see her same indifferent attitude towards him.

He thought back to the letter that had disturbed his sleep the night before and suddenly felt as though he was being drawn up and down like a stringed puppet. One moment Lily was seducing him and the next she was acting as though he was an annoying bug on her shoulder.

He was stupid to keep on pursuing her, but he was fond of challenges. However, what he liked more was mysteries. And Lily Evans was a walking enigma.

However, James was _awfully_ good at solving mysteries and getting what he wanted.

When he saw her that morning at the Great Hall, laughing and chatting with her friends, she completely flicked him off when he walked out of his way to greet her. It was like 5th year all over again: he went to say "Hi, babe," while she rolled her eyes and told him to sod off.

But James was not mad at her reaction, or shocked in the very least. By now, he had begun to understand her mood swings, and thus mentally prepared himself for any sort of reaction that she would give him. Thus, when she told him to sod off, he chuckled silently and left her without a word, once again surprising her.

"What was that all about?" Sirius said, eyeing Lily and furrowing his brows.

James did not reply and simply smirked, silently following Sirius and Remus to their seats at the Gryffindor table.

"There's no cheese this morning," Peter muttered. "I hate it when there's no cheese with my bread."

"Use butter," Remus replied lazily.

"I hate butter."

"You hate the entire world," Sirius snapped.

Peter shut his mouth and glared at his empty bread. Sirius ignored him and went back to his conversation with James.

"I thought you said you two worked things out," Sirius continued without looking at James. When he gave no reply, Sirius looked up and noticed the smirk on his face. "You're planning something, aren't you," Sirius said, suddenly very interested.

Remus turned his head to listen in as well while James cracked his knuckles and leaned forward across the table. "_Slughorn's party,_"he said slowly, drawing out each syllable. He sat back straight and grinned devilishly. Sirius grinned back, for he knew, without words, that something was brewing in James' mind and whatever it was, he was sure to like it. Even Remus raised his eyebrow in slight curiosity.

Whatever James was planning, might just work for once in his life… unless, of course, the plan backfired.

It usually did when pertaining to Lily Evans.

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**Author's Note:**MAJOR delay or which I am absolutely, positively apologetic of! The last time I updated was before HBP and now it's been months since. At any rate, if you are wondering why James is talking about Slughorn's party when he really wasn't in it himself, you all shall understand in the next chapter.

And I really am not fond of this chapter (my phrases and diction doesn't really match as well as the rest since my style changed a lot). The next chapter will be deliciously yummy, though.

Why has James's attitude suddenly changed? Why is he acting so mysterious? What does that smirk mean? Why doesn't Lily think of anything productive? You'll figure it out in the next chapter!

Also, I know I said I would incorporate one of your suggestions in my story, and I tried doing that which was why it took me so long to bring this chapter to you, but it was too difficult for me so I decided not to.

The next chapter will be up soon enough. Just keep on checking my website for sneak peaks and latest developments.

**All Hail, **

**Queen of Serpents**


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